Welcome statement (teaching/research/personal interests): My great passion is persuading others that with the right attitude and the right guide, everyone can find Russian Literature approachable and rewarding. My research brings together two important areas for me: Russian lit and, believe it or not, animals. Many Russian authors deliberately employ animals not as props for human principles, but as beings in their own right. (Some, such as Solzhenitsyn, make express value judgments of humans based on their treatment of animals ... An important "key" while reading his texts!) I also work with cross-disciplinary studies, making connections between literature, art, and even music. With two small children (almost five and almost two), I have little time for hobbies, but I enjoy reading (science fiction, mysteries) and try to find time for both music and the outdoors as well. Our first "child" is our cat, Pika, who constantly tempts me to curl up and nap.

Interests: Russian Literature (prose and drama), Russian Art, Comparative Literature, English Composition

Current and Recent Courses: Russian Literature (primarily 19th-century), Soviet Russian Literature, Tolstoy & Dostoevsky

Film Courses: Russian & Eastern European Cinema

Dream or Future Courses: Russian Drama (especially Chekhov), Flaubert & Turgenev, Russian Art, Dostoevsky's St. Petersburg (Study Abroad)